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CROSS EXAMINED everyone knows One of the first female managing partners in Canada, Janet Stewart is a legal tour de force in London, Ont. Janet! BY JUDY VAN RHIJN veryone in London, Ont., knows Janet Stewart. It is here that she is the heart and soul of many community endeavours as well as being one of the most respected lawyers in her field. You can see from her curriculum vitae on the web site of Lerners LLP the extent of her interests and the many expressions of gratitude she has received, because she won't tell you about them. You would need a degree in dentistry to extract any embellishment of her achievements from Stewart herself. E "She is a very modest woman with very little to be modest about," states Lerners' senior partner Earl Cherniak, who counts Stewart among his closest friends. He was one of the lawyers instrumental in nominating Stewart for her latest award. On Jan. 28, she received the Order of Ontario for her work advocating for the advancement of women in the law and for her compassion and commitment to philanthropic activities in the London area. "There was no one in Ontario more surprised than me," says Stewart about the honour. Stewart was born in Hartford, Conn., which accounts for her rabid and lifelong devotion to the Boston Red Sox. She moved to Waterloo, Ont., at the age of nine when it was a community of only 10,000 people. From 13, she received her higher education while boarding at St. Mildred's College in Toronto, which she credits as being a very for- mative experience. After graduating in 1960, she studied history at the University of Toronto for four years and then found herself at a loss for what to do next. "I didn't choose law for any glorious reason," she recalls. "I had lawyers in the family but that was not determinative. I didn't know what practising law was." Upon completing the bar admission course, she answered an ad tacked up on the notice board and went to the firm 18 ApRil 2010 www. C ANADiAN law ye rmag.com Janet Stewart received the Order of Ontario for her work advocating for the advancement of women in the law and for her compas- sion and commitment to philanthropic activities.